Do you know "Knol" - You need to....

[Chris Moore]

Is the suspense killing you yet? Are you just frothing at the mouth
in anticipation wating/needing to know "Knol"? I am sure you are. I
bet you are! Do a Google search on it and we will chat more about its
importance.

[Chris Moore]

Introductory message for newbies to knols - Do NOT listen to any hype
and sensationalising from people hallucinating benefits of using
knols. Knols are a Google resource of content contributed by members
much like a next generation version of Wikis, Squidoo Lenses and
article repositories. There is NO evidence to suggest that Google will
bump knols to the top of the search engine positions, or that they
will get any sort of preferential treatment - anyone telling you
otherwise is feeding you stories. Don't jump in and make bad knols
because someone told you that it was a bandwagon to ride or that
you're gonna miss 'the next big thing' by not throwing up every piece
of content you have.

If you want to share information and allow it to be voted for by the
community and improve it over time - go for it, but do not waste your
time putting up garbage in the desparate hope that you will somehow be
accessing a 'Google Backdoor' or anything of the sort.


Knol FAQ

Q: What is a "knol"?
A: It is defined as a unit of measurement of knolwledge. Google has
established a system new system for posting and shring such "knols"

Q: Are Google doing quality control on knols?
A: It seems that the answer to that right now is YES. The problem
however is that there are no clear guidelines or details for what is
driving the controls. It does appear that many knols do not show up
when searched for within the knol system (initially at least), so more
detail on this would be good. (contribute if you have more info)

Q: Do Knols show up on normal Google searches?
A: Yes. Whether your knol shows up in the knol search or not, it seems
that the knols are picked up by the Googlebot and included in the
Google search results.

Q: Can I have my own Adsense on my Knols?
A: Yes. You can select whether to have ads shown on your knols and
which Adsense account the credit for clicks goes to.


Getting Your Knol Set Up

Step one is to create a username for your account. Since this will
form part of the final url (web address) for all of the knols in that
account you may want to call it something related to your topic rather
than your name.

Google ask that you verify your name. This is not mandatory but
without the 'verified' label next to your name you may reduce the
perceived credibility.

Next comes your 'bio' (biography) where you can tell people all about
yourself and help establish yourself as an expert in the area you're
writing about. Include photos, information and whatever you think will
help people know you better.

If you like, you can also let other people edit or contribute to your
knols - this includes your 'bio' page.

Google can verify your knol name by credit card or telephone but
currently this feature seems to only have options for US citizens.


Your Knol Content

There are 2 basic ways to create your knol content.

The first is by using the WYSIWYG editor that the knol offers when you
select create a new knol.

This allows sections for a headline, a subheading, a summary and the
knol content itself.

The purpose of the heading is to catch peoples attention and get them
to notice and want to select your knol.

The sub-heading give you chance to expand a little on the aim of your
knol.

The summary is a chance to give someone a quick idea of the purpose of
your knol (see the summary for this knol).

Another nice feature is the ability to include 'alternative titles'.
This is very similar to the 'tag' feature that blogs have and lets
browsers find your blog for related keywords.

The content can be text or you can use html to create the look and
feel you like, also including images and links.

The other way to create your content is to use the nifty 'import'
feature which lets you import existing content into your knol from
HTML, PDF, DOC, XLS and other popular file formats.

The imported content opens up into the html WYSIWYG editor for
tweeking before you save and publish it.

All knols require you to select 'publish' before they become visible
to the outside world. You can save your knol during the initial
creation process without it being visible and then select publish when
you're ready.

When you're done adding the content and have published it your account
settings will be applied to the knol and any Adsense will begin to be
displayed. There is a verification procedure so the ads may not show
immediately but you can see the status in your knol admin area.

The Knol system allows others to review your knols, post comments,
request additions/contributions and rate your knol. This rating system
uses the now familar 'star' system with 5 stars being top rating.

If you already have content ready to publish you could get a couple of
hundred knols created in one day, but I suggest you focus on creating
valuable 'expert' resources rather than just lots of stuff. Google has
a long history of having to deal with people trying to abuse their
systems for personal and financial gain - so don't be ignorant and
think you can game the system - play by the rules and build useful
knols that people want to read and you stand the best chance of
getting whatever value the knol has the capacity to offer.


Commenting on Knols

By writing reviews on related topic knols you can get additional
exposure from those respective knols (your review shows up on their
knols). And another bonus - each review gets published as a separate
knol.

Whatever your knol model and niche, reading, rating and commenting on
other peoples knols looks likely to help you get exposure for your own
work.